Something New and Stripey Socks
by H.M. Thousands
Summary: This is the story of one Mr. Draco Malfoy. Teenage Dark Mark toting loner. He lives a sad meager existence at Hogwarts, not that he would ever admit it, until stripey socks toting girl with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes gives him something he hasn't had in a long time, a reason to smile. Fluffy two-shot and pwease review!


Just another normal day. Which meant everything looked incredibly bleak for one Draco Malfoy. There wasn't much for him to look forward to anymore, with his father locked away all the family fortune had been seized. That meant that he was technically homeless, and that was the only reason he returned to Hogwarts. And trust him, the place was not the greatest place to be for a teenager toting a Dark Mark, especially when he was the only Slytherin to return for their last year. The only saving grace was the fact that no one dared to mess with him, particularly when he had shirtsleeves rolled up.

So it was just another day. Breakfast at the Great Hall. Sitting alone. Potions in the dungeon. Sitting alone. Defense Against the Dark Arts. Partnered with the teacher. Lunch. Alone. When he raised his head to survey the crowd, because people watching had become his one true hobby, he noticed a new person. A new Gryffindor with shiny black hair and a red and gold tie around her slim neck. She was sitting with Neville Longbottom and Loony Lovegood laughing at something they said. Normally Draco Malfoy would have scoffed at who ever sat with the Gryffindork and insane girl, but things haven't been normal for him for awhile. Eating his lunch he pondered the sudden appearance of the new girl. She looked around his age, but he had never in his life seen her before. The most likely reason for this new girl was that she was a transfer from Beauxbatons. But why would anyone transfer when they were so near to leaving school? Well at that moment Draco was something he hadn't been for a long time. Befuddled. Nothing had been a mystery or in the least bit intriguing to him since nearly a year ago. Finally something to look forward to.

After a dreadfully boring Ancient Runes lesson Draco had worked out the girl. She must have moved from America. She was another goody two shoes Gryffindor, and soon become best friends with Longbottom and Loony. And now she held no more interest for him. As he stalked to his Transfiguration course Draco had to flash his Dark Mark to a group of first year boys who simply would not stop gossiping about him the halls. Not that he wasn't use to it. If anything scaring the little ones brought a smirk back to his face, reminding young Mr. Malfoy of the good old days. Making his way to Arithmatics he tried not to shiver from the cold draft blowing around the old, poorly insulated castle. Plunking his heavy book bag down beside his designated seat in the very back of the room, young Mr. Malfoy began removing ink and quills and parchment in preparation for the furious note taking that would begin when class started. He spread out all his stuff all across the desk, since no one ever sat with him anyways, he had all the room to himself, or at least he thought so. Until something happened that truly surprised Draco, the first surprise he's had in a year. A flash of gold, red and black blurred in his peripheral view, before a squeak of a chair echoed in the mostly empty classroom. Then a soft but steady voice aimed in his direction, "Move all your stuff would ya."

**OoOoOo**

This one sentence nearly startled Draco Malfoy into a heart attack, it was as though someone had Stupified the poor fellow. Slowly turning his head Malfoy scanned the girl from head to toe, noticing the striped socks upon her feet and pink and yellow nail polish on her close trimmed nails. An odd creature indeed. Carefully keeping his cool demeanor he spoke with a superior lilt in his voice, "I don't think you wanna sit there." He contemplated whether or not to roll up his sleeve, surely the tattoo would scare her away, but for some reason Malfoy found himself unwilling to do so. Perhaps he just wanted to have a real conversation, even if she was only talking to him due to some morbid curiosity it was the first student he had had a somewhat civil talk with.

She tilted her head to the side, studying this boy that was as equally strange to her as she was to him. It wasn't as though she didn't know of his past, since he was all the younger boys ever talked about. It wasn't hard to pick him out in the Great Hall or corridors either. He was always the one with a wide berth around him, and he always had a aura of hostility surrounding him. "Why not?" she said with laughter in her voice, he wasn't nearly a scary as everyone had made him out to be, he was only a boy. "Seems like as good as a place as any," and with that she determinedly set all her things upon the table. "My name is Joie."

"I'm Draco _Malfoy_," he said, in a pathetic, not really trying last ditch attempt to scare. And she didn't budge.

So that was that.

**OoOoOo**

After the dead Arithmatics class Draco Malfoy had spoken a total of twenty words. Ms. Joie had spoken 324. From the 324 she explained why she transferred to Hogwarts, her father got a job at the Ministry, she explained why her favorite color is green, because it looks like the smell of freshly mowed grass, she explained what mowing was, the act of cutting grass and she explained why Luna Lovegood should ask out Longbottom, because he's been gawking at her for ages. In twenty words Mr. Malfoy grunted in agreement fourteen times, and asked for the page number. Sooner than expected the class was dismissed, and students filed out in groups. Draco bent down to pack away his things, and when he looked up her grinning face looked down upon him.

"Class is over now," he informed her.

"I know."

"Shouldn't you be scurrying off to your little friends?" he asked with a little annoyance and minute amount of bitterness.

"I could ask you the same thing." she replied, a small mischievous twinkle in her eye, as if this conversation was a chess game and she just spotted the winning move.

"Malfoys don't need friends," he sneered.

"We'll see about that." So they walked together to their next class, and the next, and the next. If questioned Mr. Malfoy would say Joie talked to much for him to be able to object, but he would say this smiling.

**OoOoOo**

A week later Malfoy concluded he had a new acquaintance, not a friend, but something suspiciously close.

**OoOoOo**

A week later Joie concluded that her plan had gone swimmingly, he had smiled twice already.

**Hope you enjoyed! Next part will come whenever I get around to writing it! Review pwetty pwease**


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